OZschwitz: Fascist liberal senators quiz socialist labor ABC chief on bias

ERIC ABETZ has become the latest in a long line of Liberal politicians to accuse the ABC of bias, saying Kevin Rudd now treats the ABC as a personal fiefdom.

The Tasmanian senator made the barb yesterday when asking the network's managing director, Mark Scott, at a Senate estimates committee hearing, to explain how a prime ministerial staffer was able to block a cameraman from filming a radio interview in an ABC studio at Parliament House. "Lachlan Harris is deciding who's coming into the ABC studio," Senator Abetz said. "If [John Howard's adviser] Tony O'Leary was trying to do that, it would have led the news."

But Mr Scott said the issue had been resolved; work was underway on installing permanent TV cameras in radio studios.

Senator Abetz also demanded to know the political make up of the studio audience for Q&A, a new program on which MPs take questions from members of the public. The ABC asks participants to state their voting intentions on a registration form beforehand. Senator Abetz suggested the audience was stacked with Labor voters.

Mr Scott said: "The idea is to get an audience that represents the plurality of views that exist in the community."

The grievances spanned hours. The Queensland Liberal senator Ian Macdonald wanted inquiries into an "anti-forestry culture" among ABC's news staff.

The Victorian Liberal senator Rod Kemp read out a speech by the presenter Geraldine Doogue and questioned her impartiality.

"I do hope you enjoy your time as Prime Minister and enjoy bringing us along with you … May I thank you in that eloquent way you immortalised [George Bush] yesterday. I salute you," he quoted her as saying.

Doogue made the comments to Mr Rudd at a Sydney Institute forum shortly after he was criticised for saluting George Bush.

"That was a joke, senator," Mr Scott said.

LNK
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